The campaign to remove California Gov. Gavin Newsom from office has gone from unlikely to "unavoidable," according to Politico.
The political news website pointed to the Democrat's plummeting approval numbers, combined with mounting frustrations over businesses closing, hospitals at full capacity, and school campuses shut down.
Newsom's approval rating has dropped 14 points over the last four months amid growing recall petitions, according to a poll released this week.
The University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies survey found that 46% approve of Newsom's job performance — down from 60% four months ago — the highest of any of the state's governors in the last five decades.
The drop tracked with growing public dissatisfaction with Newsom's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
For his part, Newsom, doesn't want to discuss the recall effort, Politico noted. But his backers are already bracing for it.
"Are we getting prepared to oppose it? Of course," said Joe Cotchett, an ally and donor to Newsom.
But the recall effort is still short of the needed signatures to get it on the ballot. The deadline to certify it is March 17. Organizers need to present 1.5 million signatures. So far, they have collected 1.3 million total.
Politico said they will likely have to collect about 2 million to compensate for invalid signatures.